In the world of IT and software development, there's an important term to understand known as technical debt.
Basically, rather than take the time, resources or strategy needed for a better approach to address any problems, leadership and teams conduct shortcuts and easier approaches. With no real interest and little regard to how this could have later impacts. Technical debt is the consequence of all those shortcuts, all those band-aids.
It’s that fix the symptoms, not the disease kinda thing and hope it’ll all go away. But it won’t.
The more shortcuts we take add up over time with the true cost down the road. And eventually won't be able to avoid as problems build up.
I always appreciated that term - technical debt. It was something I was aware of but didn't quite have a name for. It inspired me to look at other areas of work that could also be explained in this way. Workplace cultures certainly came to mind.
Band-aids, quick fixes and grand gestures might look like we're doing the work we need to create and maintain healthy cultures, but those all seem hollow if we're not taking the steps that matter. Employees aren't dumb. They know when leaders are checking boxes rather than investing in the organization's culture.
What are the things we as leaders do that causes cultural debt:
1. Ignoring Root Causes like offering perks to unhappy staff. Why are they unhappy? Why aren’t we asking that? This just causes problems to re-emerge later on.
2. Superficial Engagement Initiatives like engagement surveys or workshops that have no follow-through. Employees will just become cynical, if they aren’t already about leadership’s commitment to actual change.
3. Overlooking Toxic Behavior like avoiding confrontation with toxic employees for the sake of harmony and not “rocking the boat.” I’ve talked about this in my 7 deadly sins of leadership. The toxic behaviour will spread, which undermines trust and any collaboration.
4. Values Lip Service where it’s about talking about values and missions and visions without operationalizaing them. Where’s the cultural debt? It erodes credibility.
I could go on and on.
Workplace Cultural Debt is the accumulated cost of not addressing problems in the company's culture, values, and work environment. Just like technical debt, cultural debt adds up when issues related to workplace culture are overlooked or not properly addressed.
Addressing cultural debt requires leaders to lead, to have a proactive approach to cultivating a positive, inclusive, and effective workplace culture.
If we want to be better leaders and avoid accumulating that cultural debt, here are a few areas to invest in:
· Promote and Model Open/Transparent Communication - Regularly communicate the organization's values, goals and changes to all employees. Create an environment where employees can criticize us and where truth to power is encouraged without repercussions.
· Cultivate diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI) - Implement policies and training that promote inclusion and equitable treatment. And regularly check in to see if those efforts are working or not and adjust accordingly.
· Prioritize Employee Well-Being - Provide resources for mental health support, like counselling services or stress management workshops. And be open as leaders in your own mental health journey.
· Invest in Continuous Learning - Provide mentorship programs and career development to help employee progress in their careers. And help them understand what those careers could look like rather than leave it completely to them to figure out.
These are some of the foundations of a healthy culture. And if we don’t focus and nurture in them, that’s where the rot can start and grow.
Allowing workplace cultural debt to grow and go untreated, it can lead to all the bad things - reduced productivity, high employee turnover, poor morale, and can ultimately impact the organization's success and sustainability.
This is not something we put our heads in the sand about and hope problems go away. We need to regularly invest in our organization with the time, resources and intent that it deserves. It's about focusing on the patient and not the symptoms.
Anything else is just a pizza party and calling it culture.
